New smartphones and tablets, gifted money and sheer boredom prompt more than half of UK shoppers to head online to shop on Christmas Day, finds a predictably Sroogian survey.
Christmas Day 2017 is set to see a surge in shopping online, according to affiliate network affilinet revealing that more than half of Britons shopped online during the festive day itself last year. Of the 53% of participants that admitted to shopping online last Christmas Day, the majority (43%) did so on a smartphone, 28% used their iPad or tablet device, 27% used either a laptop/desktop computer and 2% used a TV/games console.
While the majority were keen to spend money they had been gifted, three quarters were also driven to shop out of boredom and one in five confessed that they felt ‘unsatisfied with their presents’.
The team at affilinet commissioned the research in order to learn more about the public’s shopping habits over the festive period. 2,758 UK adults took part in the poll, all of whom were aged 18 or over and celebrate Christmas.
First, respondents were asked to identify any festive days when they browsed or shopped online last year, finding that 61% shopped on Boxing Day, 53% shopped on Christmas Day, but just 18% shopped on Christmas Eve.
All those who’d spent time shopping online on Christmas Day itself were asked, “What motivated you to shop online on Christmas Day?” to which 83% of the relevant respondents stated that they wanted to ‘spend money received as a gift’, although 53% were motivated out of ‘evening boredom’ and one in five (21%) confessed they were ‘unsatisfied with their presents’.
The same group was then asked to state how much they had spent online during Christmas Day 2017, to which the average answer was £128. By comparison, the average amount of money received through gifts was £86. When asked, “Did you spend more than intended when shopping during Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and/or Boxing Day?” the majority of online shoppers (59%) stated that they did overspend.
Of all those who shopped on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, just one in ten (10%) stated that the prices of the items they bought dropped during Boxing Day or New Year sales.
Richard Greenwell, Head of Affiliate Development at affilinet, explains: “It’s tempting to jump straight online and pick out all things that sadly weren’t under the tree waiting for us on Christmas morning, to fill in those gaps left in the wishlist. If you’ve got some money to spend, there’s no harm in this – but if you end up binging and overspending, you will have a financial hangover as well as an alcohol-induced one come the end of the festivities.”
“Try to keep your head and be rational, don’t give in to impulse spending, and think wisely about how you want to spend your money. The good thing about going online rather than hitting the high street is that you have more chance to easily shop and about and compare prices, just make sure you do it before you’ve had one too many Baileys!”
